A gamble? Yes.
Was it worth the risk? The day of the interview, Andrew was surfing mid week with one other surfer and a pod of 20 dolphins. You be the judge.
In this interview, Andrew puts his photography success down one strong belief – stand out somehow or blend in and get lost in the crowd.
Here's some of what we cover:
The Follan's mantra has always been, stand out and that extends to their website amongst other things in their business.
Premium Members
I get asked more about pricing and how to set up a price list plus what to include from listeners via email than anything else. In this extra audio for premium members, Andrew breaks pricing down and simplifies it in a way that I've not heard before.
Follow his simple approach and you'll have an attractive price list for you that is actually profitable in no time. This really is a no fuss approach that makes total sense for anyone setting up or offering wedding or portrait packages.
What is your big takeaway?
Following the interview, I'd love to know what your biggest takeaway is – what is the one thing that you'd like to implement or remember from what Andrew had to share? Let me and other listeners know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below.
Facebook, like with many studios, plays a big part in the Follan's marketing approach.
What have you implemented so far?
Each episode I encourage you to let me know what, if anything you've implemented or “taken away” from the podcast interviews. This week I received an amazing email from Pauline Davis and I'd love to share some of it with you:
I have been wanting to write and tell you all my news for some time now but like everything else, sometimes “life” gets in the way and things go topsy-turvey but here you are asking me and so I will take this opportunity to put “life” on hold and talk to you for a bit.
Well, I just would like to start by thanking you again for my membership as it's been such serendipituous timing with my photographic journey just starting out and I can honestly say that all the take-aways and handy tips that I have taken onboard have directly resulted in me as a photographer getting “out there” and actually doing something with myself and creating art 🙂
I am not a “pro” and sometimes I question whether I am a photographer (heheheee 😀 ) but I love art and making art and love the discipline of photography. I moved to the country (Cobargo…just down the road from Ben Marden) about 3 years ago and gave up horse riding as it hurts too much when you fall off and so wondered, “What can I do now that doesn't hurt as much?” “I know – Photography!” Little did I know that sometimes photography hurts MORE!!!! 😉 😀 Anyway, as life had it, I did one of Ben's workshops and loved it and the rest is history.
As time went on and I bumbled and fumbled my way around cameras and lenses and Lightroom and fellow photographers I realised I needed a plan; a course of action that would help mould me into the photographer that I wanted to become. Low and behold, Andrew and Photobizx.com!!!! Hallelujah! Praise the lord (or Andrew!) 😉
So, what has been my take-aways from the podcasts, I hear you ask??? Well…
Firstly, I think Nick (Evans) said it (along with a few others) that “mentoring” was the primary thing that helped him get it together as a photographer, both in helping with learning the technicalities and also with learning the ropes of good business practices and so I started the quest to find myself a good mentor… someone who I respected as a person and business professional and someone whose work/art inspired and motivated me to learn and do more with myself as a photographer. Bingo! I had the luck to find TWO mentors!!! Ben Marden, whose work I LOVE and aspire towards and has helped make me the photographer that I am today and, Melissa Ellis who I also met through Ben's workshops. Melissa is quite remarkable in that she, like me, only picked up a camera about 3 years ago and has already gone on to run her own childrens/family photography business in Canberra and WOW, what great work does she do! She is one dynamic lady!!! She has so much talent for a newbie and so much drive it puts me to shame but she is a lovely person and loves to help and when I asked her about mentoring me, she welcomed the idea and couldn't (and still to this day) do enough for me, helping with everything from camera/lens advice to pricing and post-production tips. I struck a “winner” with these TWO mentors!!! 🙂
Thank you soooo much, Andrew, for interviewing Caitlin as I got soooo much out of her podcast. The main thing for me was how I was going to get my portfolio together to be able to promote myself with my pet photography. My main take-away from Caitlin was to use the local animal welfare and charity organisations to build my portfolio. I decided I would approach them and see if there was an opening for me to come in and do some “free” shoots for fundraisers, advertising etc, and so help them out as well as provide me with some learning opportunites and experience. As fate so had it, I was told about the Narooma Dog Training club's fundraiser for the Far South Coast Animal Welfare League and invited to attend and take photos of the days events and dogs to sell with the proceeds going to the Animal Welfare League. YES! I took 220 photos and culled it down to 103 edited pics which I have put on an USB stick to make into a slideshow DVD for sale. Omigod, and I got some great pics for my portfolio at the same time. Win/Win!!! Onya, Caitlin!!! ALSO, my dogs grooming salon told me about their fundraising day for the Merimbula Animal Welfare League this Sunday (oh boy, oh boy 🙂 ) and so I offered to do the same photo shoot for them and hopefully, build my portfolio even more 🙂 Way to go!!!!
An interesting thing, something that Brian (Chapman) said and that was about giving the client the prints instead of a disc and leaving them to get their own prints. I like this idea a lot!!!! It worries me, also, that I have spent so much time editing and making sure the image is just the way I want it and that the client (not knowing anything about print quality and photolabs) could go out to Dodgey Joe's Photolab and get “green” prints back and it reflects back on me as the photographer. This thought was my take-away from Brian and with my pet shoots up to now (all TWO of them heheheee) although I will be giving them a DVD (long story but basically of the legalities) and not controlling their print orders, I have chosen to print on the DVD label something like, “My photolab of choice is…” and that way, at least there is some chance of them getting good prints.
Jonas, I liked for his straightforward approach to photography, in general, and his confidence in his work and what he likes for himself as an artist. I think he is naturally gifted but taking your camera everywhere and taking millions of pics is really sound advice to anyone wanting to improve their camera skills. I try and take as much as I can and have started carrying my camera gear in my car and get out when the location “takes” me as much as I can. My main take-away here was to look at as much art as I can, whether it is paintings, photographs, books, magazines, cards, whatever, as each has its place with colour, texture, light etc etc. I try not to compare my work (which is hard sometimes, but other times not so, as my work DOESN'T compare…it just doesn't! 😉 😉 I like to look at Ben's work as I really admire his style and his “eye” for capturing the decisive moment and hope I can channel some of that in my work 🙂 I think all this will help me to find my own style which is what I am searching for at the moment. We will see! :-\
Of-course, the wonderful Mimika!!! I loved her interview as she had really nutted out everything and I can see why she does exceptionally well in whatever she does. There was soooo much content in her interview and most of it isn't relevant to me in my journey at the present but possibly in the future I can refer back and pick up what I need. If I have to say something, then my take-away would be everything about keeping your business “personal” with the human touch in advertising and promoting yourself as opposed to solely using technology and the internet and web based interactions. Mimika had so many great ways of interacting with people and your clients and I hope to be able to use them in my business. I am not much of a geek so I think this will suit me well!!! heheheee You know what, Andrew, with Mimika, for me, when I think about it, the take-away is her “energy”!!!! I wish she could market that!!!! I would buy it by the tonne loads!!! It is soooo refreshing to hear such positive energy and enthusiasm for one's work. Love it!!!
So, I think that's it for now, Andrew. My journey has only just started but thanks to you and your wonderful service in helping and inspiring other fellow photographers, no matter where they are on their journey, I have some fantastic ideas and advice and help that I can use to further my photography dream. It's funny but I am finding that as I go along, there is an appropriate podcast just waiting for me to tune in, to get my next step of my journey underway. Magic!!!! 🙂
Thank you Pauline, what an incredibly uplifting email to receive – wishing you every success and happiness with your photography and more importantly, your journey and life. Thanks again for taking the time to put your thoughts in writing.
Mimika TV has Kicked Off
Last week I was interviewed for the first episode of Mimika TV – it was an interesting experience being asked the questions for a change but fun none the less. We talked a little about how I got started in photography before getting into more of the business side of things.
One thing you may find interesting is how I can shoot a portrait, make a “no sale” and still think of it as a $500 earner for the business. I cover that in the interview which you can by clicking here.
iTunes ratings, reviews and Shout-Outs
Also, a few shout-outs to photographers that have made contact via email or social media this week:
Warren from http://volarephotography.com.au
Russell from http://www.russellhydephotography.com.au
Angelica Cassidy
Dianne from http://www.milestonesphotography.com.au who sent this great youtube “spoof” on photographers cashing in on workshops – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS8nn8ngzeo
Andy from http://www.kissandtellphotography.com.au
And finally Mary Angelini from http://www.angeliniphoto.com who had the twitter quote of the week in regard to the Photography Business Xposed podcast:
“Were it not for post-it notes, I would be completely lost – every time I listen to a podcast my cube at work brightens by at least 1 stop from all the yellow notes plastered all over it!”
Thanks guys, it's been great chatting and hearing from every single one of you this week. If you'd like to get in touch, ask a question or make a suggestion for the show, you can email me andrew@photobizx.com, find me on twitter https://twitter.com/andrewhellmich or on Facebook at https://photobizx.com/facebook – I'd love to hear from you!
Another Photography Podcast
If you love podcasts, and hearing about and from other photographers, Michael Rammell has released “Ready Steady Pro” a podcast dedicated to those photographers looking to go full time into photography but just aren't there yet.
The audio quality is great and Michael does a great job keeping the show flowing with a round table approach to different topics that face any photographer looking to make a living from their passion.
You can find the podcast in iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/ready-steady-pro
Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:
The Follan's Website – http://www.thefollans.com.au
The Follan's on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/thefollans
The Follan's on Instagram – http://instagram.com/thefollans
The AIPP – http://www.aipp.com.au
Renaissance albums from New York – http://www.renaissancealbums.com
Asuka Books – http://www.asukabook.com.au
Jessica Claire – http://www.jessicaclaire.net
One Fine Day Bridal Expos – http://onefinedayweddingfair.com.au
David Oliver Photography – http://www.davidoliver.com.au
If you're interested in finding more about the upcoming workshop with The Follan's and Ian Wilkinson, here is the link: http://www.aipp.com.au/EventDetail?EventKey=NO-13_20
That's it for me this week, hope everything is going well for you. I'd love for you to leave a comment below to let me know what you took away from this episode of the podcast.
Speak soon
Andrew
Thanks for sharing my Mimika TV Andrew, you make a fabulous guest!!!
Thanks also to Pauline for your kind comments, I’m glad my energy is inspiring:))) I wish I could sell energy too LOL!
Go get them!!!
Best comment award! I’ll have to update my website with “Award Winning Photographer” now!
I really like the different perspective Andrew brought about the state of photography today. I have heard a lot of people saying that just because so many people can afford a nice SLR, doesn’t mean that they can take good photos. And although that is often the case, I believe that Andrew is right and that isn’t necessarily true. I got into photography back in the day when I was looking at getting my senior photos done. To do it professionally would cost about the same as getting my own camera, so I pitched my idea to my parents who bought me a Canon Rebel XS and I took my own senior photos. They weren’t photos that I would want in my portfolio today, but they were perfectly adequate for me. I agree that we need to be doing much more than making pretty pictures to stand out.
I also think it is cool the way they don’t technically have a style, but let the personality of the couple dictate the style. My wife and I do that to an extent right now. We process the photos slightly differently depending on the theme/style of the wedding. I really enjoy doing that, but at the same time, I don’t want to take it as far as it sounds like Andrew and Sarah do. We have a style of wedding that we enjoy shooting (rustic, country, outdoor weddings) and even though we can (and have) shot weddings that don’t fit that style, we don’t have as much fun doing it even if we can make good looking pictures. But I can absolutely see how it could be a really good selling point if you did enjoy shooting any kind of wedding, and could make them look good.
Overall, this was another great episode. Thanks Andrew, and Andrew!
Andrew, you always interview the nicest and most interesting people. I liked how he talked about also making sure to spend time with his family and how he prioritizes his time. I think so many of us part-time pros struggle with balancing our time between our day jobs, our families and our photography. It definitely is a challenge as we get busier in either of those three areas. Andrew seems to have found a unique way of going about that balancing act. Love it!
Cheers,
Joey Joiner
Fort Worth, Texas
Gotta agree Joey, Andrew sure is a nice bloke and does seem to have his priorities all sorted.
It is very easy to get overly focussed on one area of life while neglecting others – whether it be business, family or sport and hobbies. Too much of one will is not good for the other two. It’s something I am constantly striving to balance.
Surfing with dolphins sure sounds good though 🙂
Thanks for the comments Joey & Chris.
Joey – just so you know, we do have our priorities in order but they DO clash all the time and it is a constant struggle to keep them… still!
Surfing midweek with dolphins is awesome but it is not every week… you have to work dam hard as well ( I have not been for a surf for two weeks at the moment!).
Cheers 🙂
Thanks for stopping by to clarify Andrew – it’s good (realistic) to hear that it’s not all roses and there really is some hard work involved.
Still… surfing with the dolphins definitely keeps everything in perspective and working hard for yourself can be very rewarding and satisfying.
Hope you’re out there getting wet again soon… let me guess, you’re off to the Maldives for a 4 week surf safari over January? 🙂
Loved this interview, really liked the approach that Andrew takes of not necessarily following like a sheep and in some respects going the opposite way. I just wish I had the courage, guts, bravado, whatever you want to call it to ditch the day job and give it a red hot go. One Day, and i feel that one day will come soon. My aim is that one day i can be interviewed on the podcast as somebody that has turned something from nothing into something that is both profitable and successful. One little tip that i will throw in is that i just checked out the website, first of all WOW, awesome site. The facebook like button likes your old facebook page and not your new one which is The Follans. Don’t know whether you already know this but hey, thought i would throw it out there.
Great work as usual Andrew, thats Hellmich not Fallon, But Andrew Fallon, great work too.
Great to hear you enjoyed the interview Neil. It definitely takes some guts to go your own way, especially if it’s against the norm.
I’d love to interview you for on the podcast, let me know as soon as you think you’re in the right position to share what you know.
I’ll make sure Andrew sees your comments about the FB Like button on his site.